DOE Highlights Home Weatherization, Jobs Milestones

Olaf Sander and Zump Urycki evaluate the heating system of a home as part of the DOE Weatherization Assistance Program.Credit: Dennis Schroeder, NREL

DOE announced on September 21 that its Weatherization Assistance Program has now made more than 500,000 low-income homes nationwide more energy efficient, using funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The weatherization program is helping families save hundreds of dollars a year on their energy bills, while employing more than 14,000 workers across the country and others throughout the supply chain.

According to a new solar industry report, the solar energy industry has been adding jobs at a faster rate than other sectors during the last two years. The new figures from the nonprofit Solar Foundation showed that the number of workers in the U.S. solar energy industry has more than doubled since 2009, growing from 46,000 workers then to more than 100,000 today. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) also released a report on September 19 that found the demand for U.S. solar photovoltaics grew by nearly 70% from the previous year. See the DOE press release, the Solar Foundation press release, and the SEIA report.